This invention relates to a vaccine for the prevention of Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis) infections.
Atrophic rhinitis is a widespread and severe respiratory disease in swine. The disease is characterized by acute rhinitis, followed by chronic atrophy of the turbinate bones. Bordetella bronchiseptica (B. bronchiseptica) is recognized as the primary pathogen most responsible for the disease syndrome. Newborn piglets are very susceptible to infection. Nasal colonization of baby piglets with B. bronchiseptica usually results in chronic infection and turbinate atrophy leading to snout distortion and reduced rate of weight gain as pigs grow older.
Prevention of B. bronchiseptica induced turbinate atrophy and accelerated nasal clearance of the bacteria by vaccination of swine with a B. bronchiseptica bacterin has been reported. The nature of the immunizing antigen has not been identified. Heat-labile pilus-like surface antigens are implicated in the adherence of the bacterium to swine nasal epithelium. A pilus vaccine, like the E. coli colibaccillosis vaccine, would prevent colonization and thereby prevent infection by B. bronchiseptica.
Vaccines for B. bronchiseptica are disclosed in several literature references, for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,970 and Goodnow, et al., J. Clin. Microbiology, 6, 337-339 (1977). None of these references are drawn to a vaccine derived from pili and comprising proteins of the specific characteristics disclosed herein.
Pertussis, whooping cough, is an acute infectious disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, and characterized by recurrent bouts of spasmodic coughing continued until the breath is exhausted, ending in a noisy inspiratory stridor (the "whoop") caused by laryngeal spasm. The lesion is an inflammation of the larynx, trachea, and bronchi.
Though vaccines for pertussis derived from B. pertussis exist, there is no reported effective vaccine against pertussis based on antigenic material derived from B. bronchiseptica. Further, pertussis vaccines have been found to cause severe side effects in some individuals. It has now been discovered that materials derived from B. bronchiseptica, particularly pili proteins, are capable of imparting protection against B. pertussis infections in addition to their protective activity against B. bronchiseptica.